“It was a strange feeling, to be honest,” George Russell after vacating the Mercedes seat for Lewis Hamilton

“It was a strange feeling, to be honest,” George Russell after vacating the Mercedes seat for Lewis Hamilton

George Russell

George Russell

George Russell admitted that it was a bit strange for him to vacate his Mercedes seat for the returning seven time World Champion, Lewis Hamilton as he really wanted to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Russell drove for Mercedes last weekend at the Sakhir Grand Prix, after Lewis Hamilton tested positive for the coronavirus.

Russell came agonizingly close to securing his first podium when a late puncture ruined his chances and he could only finish as high as ninth. Lewis Hamilton, was back for Mercedes this weekend for the final race of the season at Abu Dhabi. This meant the George Russell had to return back to Williams.

“It was a strange feeling, to be honest, prior to Bahrain, I really wanted to have the two weeks in the car, purely because I was expecting to learn everything I needed to in Bahrain and I could have come here with no excuses, as such,” said Russell.

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“As Bahrain did go so well from a performance perspective, part of me was like you know what, I think it was a good weekend, obviously I really wanted to win and I would have had a great opportunity this weekend. But nevertheless, these guys at Williams, they gave me that opportunity, they’ve been working so hard for me over the last two years,” he added.

It’s my duty to send off the season on a high: George Russell

George Russell will race for Williams once again over the weekend at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and he stated that it was his duty to give his best and end the season on a high. “It’s my duty to send off the season on a high, and that’s what I’m here to do,” he said.

George Russell will notice several differences in the lap timings at Abu Dhabi as the young Brit clocked in impressive timings at Bahrain with Mercedes. However, he is back with Williams and he will suffer a dip in the lap timings, as was evident in the three practice sessions.

“There’s no hiding the lap times, obviously that’s clear,’ Russell added. Mercedes is the benchmark. I was fortunate enough to race for them last week and know where we need to be pushing the car. It’s good learning, and to get that back-to-back in the space of five days was great.”

Also Read: Lewis Hamilton ‘improving’ but doubts over his participation at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix still remain